Free Bonds of Desire by Lynda Aicher Page B

perfect.
    Allie turned back around and studied them, her brow lowered in a way that seemed almost natural to her. Then, with big exaggeration, she rolled her eyes up and huffed out a breath. “Fine. If it’ll make you happy. It’s not like lying in bed with two hot men is a hardship.”
    Tyler smiled. The squeeze on his neck was another sign of approval that smoothed through him. And damn, did that feel good.
    He worked to keep the satisfaction from showing as Allie stretched out on the mattress, copying their pose by lying on her stomach. She wiggled around a bit, tugged the shirt hem down before swiping an extra pillow off the floor to tuck it under her head.
    When she’d settled, giving one last puff of breath to blow a stray hair out of her face, Tyler chuckled. He lowered his arm, using the opportunity to brush a few more hairs away. Her skin was soft, her curls surprisingly silky, not coarse like he’d imagined. “What happened to the dignified lawyer?”
    She smiled, the humor lightening her eyes to a weak shade of coffee. “I stuffed her in the closet. I have three older brothers. I know how to play with the boys.” She winked, her personality flip as disarming as a kick to his gut.
    Seth’s soft grunt only made her smile widen. The other man lifted up, and her gaze shifted to look at him over Tyler’s head. “Do you? And what do you play, Allie?”
    Her smile faltered, the light in her eyes dimming. “That is not your business. But I’ll note your interest.”
    “Oh, you know my interest. You’re just too scared to do anything about it.”
    “You arrogant—”
    “Not now.” Tyler cut Allie off, the fun of the moment gone.
    To his surprise, they both listened. Seth dropped down behind him, the thumb rub restarting.
    Allie clamped her lips tight, her lashes brown and long against her cheeks as she closed her eyes. The room had brightened since he’d first woken up, the light coming in around the curtains growing stronger as the sun rose higher. This unguarded view of her was so different than the one he’d seen last night. Her cheeks were flushed a pale red, offsetting the dark stain of her lips.
    She was way out of his reach, but then, so was Master Seth. Yet the strong Dom’s hand on his neck felt like a claim. It couldn’t be, but Tyler was going to take what he could from the moment. Steal the illusion for when he left. Because there in no way in hell they’d want anything to do with him once he’d healed. These two were too good for a whore.
    Don’t get attached. They’re just slumming , boy . His dad was right, but he was in the middle of them now. His old man’s mirthless laugh bounced around his head, insinuating itself within the grind of his headache.
    The strange, almost surreal sense of the moment urged Tyler forward. He had nothing to lose at this point. He pushed the heavy mass of her hair over her shoulder before resting his palm on the warm skin of her nape. The tiny shiver that raced down her spine trembled like a chain through his arm and into his chest. He exhaled a long, slow breath as a foreign sense of contentment flowed through him.
    He mimicked Seth’s steady motion on his neck, stroking his thumb in a matching rhythm over Allie’s skin. The baby hairs at her nape were soft and springy under his coarse pad. The contrast was a reminder that he was too rough for her.
    She lifted her eyelids, her stare one of searching wonder, not penetrating scrutiny. “You’re my client,” she whispered as if she didn’t really want to voice the words.
    “I told you I don’t want a lawyer.” Especially if that stopped this from happening. He didn’t want the lawyer, he wanted her. The grip on his neck tightened a touch.
    Tyler wasn’t dumb. The grappling tension between the two people on either side of him was still in place, even stronger than last night. It layered over him, wrapped around him in a sizzling cloak of suppressed desire.
    “Then I really should leave,”